Jo Niemeyer

Jo Niemeyer is counted among the most resolute geometrical constructivist artists of our time. His minimal compositions created by means of the proportio divina are of harmonious aesthetics. The superficial simplicity of his works requires the viewer’s intensive involvement with his paintings which show not only high quality, but especially his subtle creative power. It is not the calculation that makes his works of art so convincing, but the intuitive sense for a good composition. With his system based on the construction of the golden section, Jo Niemeyer never forgets to challenge his works. Indeed, he only finalizes a few of his drafts and thus creates unique paintings, both in their haptic and their perfection.
Jo Niemeyer was inspired by his intensive experience of nature. As a skilled photographer he addressed himself to a detailed and structural view motivated by the order in nature. With the aim of visualizing the character of this order, he began to address himself to painting where he was able to reduce his compositions to the essentials. Jo Niemeyer’s works are fascinating because they are open and free in spite of all the reduction and construction.
Jo Niemeyer is known for his drawings and acrylic sculptures with their strictly geometrical patterns. Having a stark bias toward the rectangle theme, his work usually involving the use of rich primary colours. Niemeyer is associated with the ancient Greeks golden section concept, that is the the division of a length of the smaller part is to the greater as the greater is to the whole. To Niemeyer, this means that the square is always seen as his vantage or focal point, and that tension is achieved through division. He cherishes an affinity to the Bauhaus tradition, and occasionally concerns himself with designing furnitures, complete work bays and architectural projects. He also feels committed to the very clear lucid lines of Scandinavian design holding that a maximum of functionality, and usefulness ought to be achieved through using a minimum of materials.
"Art and mathematics… an experiment... The basis of my work as an artist is the connection between art and nature, between the artistic action and the experimental work. This means that my artistic production which is fundamentally based on natural principles and measures is nothing more than a sequence of experimental steps which implies given and objective criteria and subjective factors in the same way. On the one hand my work is based on events in nature and civilization as well as on communication with colleagues of other disciplines. The dual pole mathematics - art is for me not only the basis of my experience but at the same time my central theme. My main interest is directed to the perception of space, time, distances and proportion and forms the synthesis between art and nature which implies in the end a dialogue between man and nature..."
Jo Niemeyer has won numerous international awards and commissions for graphic design, architecture projects, industrial, and photodesign. He has lectured on graphic techniques at the Academy of Fine Art in Helsinki/Finland, and on the Methods of "The Golden Section" used in graphic arts and the Land-Art Project "20 Steps" in the Mathematical Section of Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg.

Over the years, Neimeyer has held successful one-man and group shows in Scandinavia, Italy, Switzerland, Israel, USA, England, Japan, Argentina, and Finland. His murals in public buildings can be found in countries all around the world including Switzerland, Germany and Scandinavia. Featured in numerous international publications and films, his works can be found in public and private collections and museums throughout the world including in Japan, Germany, Calgary, Canada, Holland, Finland, Germany, and Austria. Today, Jo Niemeyer works and lives in Germany, France and Finland. Biography from Grand Image, Ltd